Mrs. Husack's TARGET Class

1st Grade - Around the World

Our first stop on our journey around the world was to Vietnam. We visited the Mekong River and learned about the water markets and why fish is such a dietary staple for the Vietnamese. We also discussed the climate and how that impacts what they are able to grow, harvest, and eat. We read Everybody Cooks Rice and took a virtual field trip to a rice paddy. We finished our travels by making Vietnamese puppets and watching a traditional water puppet show. Next week we'll travel to Ireland - just in time for St. Patrick's Day!

2nd Grade - Cubism

2nd grade students are enjoying exploring the artwork and life of Pablo Picasso! Students have several choice activities that they are completing: "Roll a Picasso Portraits" where a dice is rolled and that number indicates what type of facial feature is drawn, "Mystery Mosaics" where a hidden picture is revealed after colors are added to a coordinating position on a grid, and "Interactive Lap Books" about Pablo Picasso's life. Students are advancing well on their Rubik's Cube work each week! Most have solved the white cross and several have already solved the white face and are moving on to Stage 4, solving the red and blue faces.

3rd Grade - Mini-Society

The citizens of Logictopia have interviewed for positions and are now gainfully employed! They've completed their first day's work and have met with me individually to have their Prototype Report approved before starting production. Next week we will conduct market research with both 3rd grade TARGET classes so students can receive feedback and suggestions on their ideas. Students should bring in a sample prototype that's ready for market research next week.

4th Grade - National Parks

4th graders have been researching a National Park of their choice and preparing for a "Museum Walk" presentation next week. We've spent time in the computer lab exploring the www.nps.gov websites and all the resources our National Parks have to offer. Students created brochures of their chosen National Park to showcase the things tourists must see and do, warnings of potential dangers inside the park, and also what conservation efforts are in effect to preserve the parks and their natural beauty. To compliment their brochures, students worked on additional projects of choice based on their preferred product style so they can show what they know to the class!

5th Grade - Shakespeare

We started our second unit of the year with an introduction to Shakespeare's life and works through a Webquest. Students constructed models of the Globe Theater and we began a virtual field trip traveling back in time to Shakespearean England to submerse ourselves in his writings and culture. Students completed an Inductive Reasoning activity matching Shakespeare Lingo to Modern Lingo. We were surprised to find that many of the words commonly used in Shakespeare's writings are still found in the dictionary, although students agreed that they seem a little "out of date." Next week we'll play Lingo Bingo, create Shakespearean Mad Libs, and begin working on a Pop Sonnet project! Students, don't forget to look over your Shakespeare Translation Guide for Lingo Bingo!